Movie Appraisal: Europa Report (2013)

Watching this film I am reminded of Apollo 18, only Apollo 18 with a bit more science, a bit more bite, and a lot more character. Again, as I've said a million times before, I like these space horror movies. Something about them strikes the right place in my scientific mind. Maybe it's something about the unknown and the unknowable. Or maybe it's simply that love of discovery and exploration. I don't think there will ever be a moment when movies like this won't appeal to me in even the smallest of ways.

I say it reminds me of Apollo 18, but this a movie that was made to be more than a simple schlocky horror movie. It was made, definitely made, to be a thinking person's film, one about sacrifice, science, and ultimately the unknown. While it's hard to exactly call a "horror" movie per se, I do believe it has those elements to it, relying on tension, claustrophobia, and mystery to tell its doomed story.

The plot is about a group of six astronauts going into the unknown reaches of space, to Europa (as seen in the title), which is one of the largest moons in the solar system and a moon of Jupiter. It also has scientific value, being one of the few places in our own solar system that could have liquid water on it and therefore may also have life. Thus, unlike our own cold dead moon, Europa might be a more viable option in terms of extraterrestrial life. Because of this, and a few other reasons I'll get into shortly, this movie seems like an answer to Apollo 18's questionable storytelling.

First of all, unlike that other movie, this one tells how the transmissions of what happened got back to Earth. It also gives more believable creatures for the environment. Finally, the emotions and characters are certainly there, putting this above and beyond most space horror movies. This one seems to be more in league with 2001: A Space Odyssey and Moon to name a few. It is a serious movie with serious science and serious acting backing it up. The musical score is excellent throughout as well, but... there are issues. And I'll get into those shortly.

The story is nonlinear, following two basic storylines. The first is the landing of the landing module of the Europa One (the spacecraft) onto the moon. The second is the loss of the first astronaut of the mission, which also was the point in the mission that the communications' devices went offline. The second story is the first in chronological order, although its climax doesn't occur until about halfway through the movie. So, throughout the first half of the movie, we know that an astronaut has been lost and the communications are not working, but we have no idea why or what happened. Then we are told, and such a tale it is.

There was an unexpected solar flare that started the bad business and bad luck of the mission. It took out a great deal of systems, but notably took the communications to Earth offline as well. The two engineers, Andrei and James, go out to fix what needs fixing. There is an unexpected accident in which Andrei rips the hand of his spacesuit and James becomes contaminated with hydrazine, which is a toxic chemical. James saves Andrei but sacrifices himself for the mission in an unbelievable and frankly upsetting way. It was an emotional scene meant to evoke an emotional response, and you know what? It got me.

It speaks to the performances of all the actors in the movie, but specifically of Sharlto Copley, who plays James, and Michael Nyqvist, who plays Andrei. They are both amazing in this movie, even though James' time on screen is limited. That's not to downplay the other actors, but those two did such a great job that they deserve a special mention. All the acting here is good though. Very solid performances throughout.

With James' death, the mission goes on but without the enthusiasm it had once had. They land on Europa, start their science, and discover that all is not right. There are mysterious lights in the distance, more radiation than expected, and something odd under the surface of the ice...

This leads to a tense conclusion that leaves you wanting so much more. And with that there's a twist that will leave you reeling, almost like you were punched in the gut. I'm going to spoil it because I want to talk about it. Skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want to know what it is. When it is revealed that Rosa didn't escape, and therefore didn't survive the mission, it is like a blow in the face. Throughout the movie there were cuts to several interviews, one of which was the CEO of the private group that financed the mission, one was a scientist talking about the mission, and the final was Rosa. These interviews were all implied to be taking place after the fact. And it is a blatant misdirection. Rosa gave her "interview" towards the end of the mission, as a last ditch effort to talk to Earth and tell their doomed story. That hit me hard, especially because I truly believed that she had survived the mission as so many of these characters do. Like Apollo 18 though, there are no survivors, only a record. To me that's perfect and wonderful, upsetting and perfect storytelling.

I think that's my ultimate point (as I stop with spoilers), the storytelling here is fantastic even if the technical pieces of the movie are less than stellar at times. And that brings me to a few of my gripes. The first is that at times the found footage aspect of the film wears thin. I understand why it was used, and I appreciate it in terms of the narrative. That being said, I simply did not like how many cuts there were, how fast the cameras would cut at times, and the amount of shaking and video static that would appear on screen. Honestly, it gave me a bit of a headache, something I did not appreciate all that much. Not all found footage films have quite that much interference and movement of cameras, but this one had way too much for my liking.

I also did not like the creatures. While they do not show up as a true creature, full and in frame, until the very end of the movie, I did not like that aspect of it. It was the monster shot, pure and simple, and the payoff seemed sillier than I wanted out of this mostly serious movie. The CGI was not good in that moment and the Europa monster was not believable just like certain MOON MONSTERS from Apollo 18 were also silly and unbelievable. Maybe if the CGI was better I would have appreciated the monster more, but in the end it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I get the feeling my imagination would have been happier without a concrete answer to what the Europa creature was. Instead I see it as a glowing octopus monster, which takes away any thrills, fear, or mystery that it could have had.

Again, while these are legitimate gripes, it doesn't really take away from the brilliance that I see in this movie. It's very good, with some legitimately touching and terrifying moments that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you like space horror movies or space thriller movies or space mystery movies or space movies, then you will probably like this one quite a bit. I know I've compared this movie quite a bit to Apollo 18, but the comparison stands up quite well. You could also compare it to Sunshine (without some of that movie's more slasher moments). But out of the found footage space horror genre, this is probably tops right now. Check it out if you can. I recommend it fully.

I'm also glad I could wash the bad taste of the terrible movie I watched yesterday out of my mouth. Blegh.

Movie Appraisal: The Tunnel (2011)

So, here is an absolutely wonderful "found footage" horror film. I have to admit to liking most films of this type already, even if the gimmick does wear thin at times. I really thought that Apollo 18, The Blair Witch Project, and Paranormal Activity were good films the first time I saw them though. And I'm sure there are plenty of people who would disagree with me that those films are quality. And that is an absolute shame. These are good horror flicks. They don't usually have the budget of most regular horror movies, but they really do the best they can. The biggest problem with these types of movies is the cinematography, which worked well enough in this movie. I didn't like the camera shaking all over the place. That was rough. And the prevailing moments of darkness and nothing else were a little too prevalent, but all-in-all this is a movie that works on many levels. I like it for what it is.

I can compare it to Marebito quite easily, both exploring abandoned tunnels. This film works better than that one though in almost every conceivable way. I know most people would probably rather get the impression of [REC] or the American remake Quarantine, but this movie is quite a bit different than either of them. It's very much in the realm of a movie that is set in an abandoned place. The abandoned tunnels under Sydney, Australia work wonders for a horror movie. Maybe not quite as well as the Parisian tunnels and catacombs might, but it isn't too far off.

While the movie's camerawork isn't anything special, the acting and especially the interviews that are interspersed throughout the movie with the found footage worked incredibly well. I was really digging this flick even if it was a little gimmicky. The documentary style really worked well here. It really felt like a somewhat incoherent and odd documentary, something that would have been on the Discovery or History Channels before they went to hell and reality shows. The movie had a ton of horror in it as well, coming off as a fairly paranoid experience. It was nerve-wracking, not because the characters were amazing or the story was that involving, but because the experience that they were having was really quite something. The fact that the government knew something more than they were saying was creepy enough, but when the crew discovers the evil lurking in the darkness, it's about as terrifying as a movie like this can be.

The "monster" or "creature" or whatever you'd like to call it was well done too. It didn't have a lot of camera time, and that was definitely for the best. The few times we do see it, it looks deformed and just enough wrong to make your blood run hot. I have to admit it was pretty creepy, although the more I saw of it the less creepy it became. The aesthetic as well was amazing. The look of the tunnels and what seemed like half-finished ruins or something like that really appealed to me. I love that kind of look in movies, and I think it's woefully underdone.

I don't have much more to say. I really liked this film. It may not be the scariest or the most memorable film around, but for an indie Australian horror movie, I thought it worked better than it had any right to work. I enjoyed it from beginning to end although I think you really have to be in the mood for a movie like this. The one downside to this movie is that towards the end it kind of slogs, and in a dialogue heavy movie like this, when nobody is talking and the screen is black, it's much more annoying than tense. Natasha, the lead character, starts screaming towards the end of the movie and never really stops... and that just takes me right out of the film. The whole ending really feels very piecemeal and cobbled together, never quite as good as the rest of the flick. The horror kind of fades away like it was never there. I both like that and dislike that from different views. I like it because they're safe in the light and on the surface, but I dislike it because the tension fades away so quickly, especially when I have no special fondness for the last character to die.

I don't have much else to say. It's a relatively simple movie about a news reporter and her crew trying to find some truth in Sydney's tunnels and finding so much more than they intended. While I really enjoyed it, this will not be a movie for everybody even though I think it does the found footage gimmick better than most. I thought it worked well, really doing its best to be a great little horror film. I have to recommend this one, especially if you're at all interested in this kind of movie.

Movie Appraisal: The Curse (Noroi) (ノロイ) (2005)

Now, here's a movie that I can't really accurately describe. Noroi is a strange Japanese found-footage film brought to us from director Kôji Shiraishi dealing with psychics, supernatural phenomena, and a paranormal expert investigating different strange occurrences that all deal with a demon by the name of Kagutaba. It's all over the place at times, moving from one scene to another with lightning fast speed, never really focusing on any of the smaller characters within the film, and setting the story up without much fanfare. In some ways the movie is very stylistic. I can imagine many people falling to one side or the other about the quality of this film, especially its quality as a horror film. It has some strange decisions in its plot and characters that are almost mystifying. And yet it does a good job all around at being a found-footage film and bringing about its story, however strange, by any means necessary.

The film is found-footage as I mentioned previously, with the paranormal investigator Kobayashi and his cameraman doing most of the filming of the strange incidents. But every once in a while a Japanese television show, either an interview show, game show, or reality show seems to come on top of the footage to show some background about characters and their situations. The pacing is all over the place through this though. It never really sets itself at a comfortable pace nor does it ever reach a high echelon of storytelling. That all being said, the story is well done and interesting. The characters are very believable. The acting is mostly very good. In general it is a good movie, maybe even a good horror movie, but I found some things to gripe about anyway.

The movie never really became a scary experience for me. There were plenty of good moments. Hell, there were some moments that felt right out of The Blair Witch Project to me, and I actually found those quite effective in general. Stuff moving inexplicably, the woods and the shrine at night, hell even some of the added in or CGI figures worked pretty well, maybe even because they looked so out of place. The boy in the film, Junko Ishii's son, is possibly the creepiest character in the film. In the beginning of the movie, as he looked through the curtain, I definitely felt a shiver creep up my spine. That face actually was kind of creepy. Sorry to say that about your face, kid, but it was a little creepy.

The movie is fairly predictable though, but even so many plot points come out of nowhere with little plot-wise reason for those things to happen. Characters die for seemingly no reason with their deaths plastered in words on the screen telling us of their deaths rather than showing or telling or anything else. It was an odd way to go about killing off characters in a horror movie, and it fell rather flat for me. I actually rolled my eyes the first time it happened because I had said, "And that was the last time I ever saw them. They died a day later." And the freaking subtitles said almost the exact same thing a moment later. It was a little ridiculous.

The main characters did a good job throughout though. They were consistent and all acted beyond my expectations. There were moments of silliness and overacting, but they were often realistic and all-in-all really well done. The shrine scenes are probably the best and most hectic in the entire film. Certainly creepy. The faces and some of the things seen in those scenes were absolutely awesome and horrific, and now all I want to do is go to a Japanese shrine. I thought that the possession scenes were particularly good too as well as the psycho... I mean, psychic... Hori, who has to be the absolute best actor in the film. I mean seriously, the guy went over and above in the insane department and it really worked. I've seen and known a good amount of homeless men who were a little off and he fits the bill perfectly. I would have taken him for a guy who was a bit off any day of the week.

I also liked the subplot for the town that was put underwater for a dam. Something about that is fascinating, although maybe that because I don't live very far away from a dam that was put over a bunch of towns and villages and the like. I've always found the lost town aesthetic interesting and cool, and the whole plot of it in this movie certainly worked really well for me.

Yes, this movie has a lot of missteps, and yes, it is overly long at times. Boy is it ever. This movie could have been thirty minutes shorter and I don't think it would have been a bad thing. It really stumbled in place with its slow pace. The faster paced scenes or the setups to some of he weirder scenes worked much better than the slower scenes where nothing much happened. But that's the nature of film, and I liked the movie well enough that even the boring and slow bits weren't all that bad. Anyway, I did like the movie, finding it as a decent fond-footage film in general with a few decent scares packed in. It's intelligent as well, but is very Japanese at points, so much so that as an American I had trouble recognizing what I was looking at. I think I also lost a lot not being able to read Japanese because of all the writing on screen at different times.

Anyway, I recommend the movie. It's good, straightforward, and shocking at times albeit tamely shocking. (I'm making myself an OXYMORON today.) I think most people will find this movie effective and well done. I wasn't ever freaked out or scared by it, but I almost never am at this point. It does have predictable elements and is very slow-paced, but I think the movie is definitely worth watching once, especially if you like odd Japanese horror with a strange and supernatural edge.

Kagutaba. Ka...gu...ta...ba...

Ka...
.....gu...
.........ta...
.............ba...

KAGUTABA LIVES

Movie Appraisal: Chronicle (2012)

So, every year I see about one movie or so in theaters. I mean, mostly they're not even good movies. Two years ago, maybe three I started doing this, not from a conscious effort or anything, but rather because that's how it happened to work out. I already know this won't be the only movie I'll see in theaters this year, what with The Hobbit and The Dark Knight Rises, but it is my first and the one I knew almost nothing about. Expect spoilers in this review. Just a warning.

I had heard some decent things from both reviews and from word of mouth, but I didn't really know what to expect. There are a glut of what seem to be described as deconstructions of the superhero genre. I haven't really seen many of them, and I have no real desire to see any of them either. This is not out of any malice towards the movies, but rather because I simply am apathetic about these movies. They don't usually mean much to me. This movie, Chronicle, is a deconstruction, certainly, but is also a found-footage film done very well, and a pretty good dark high school drama film as well.

The film centers on three high schoolers who find something strange in a a hole underground. The main character Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is a bit of a recluse, a loner, a strange nerdy guy with a lot of issues at home. He is not only unpopular, but is largely unnoticed. The other two characters are the very popular Steve (Michael B. Jordan) and Andrew's cynical cousin Matt (Alex Russell). These three have incredibly good interactions with one another in the first half of the film, and almost make it feel good as a film, rather than dark as it will eventually become.

The first half of the movie centers on both Andrew, his home life, school life, lack of social life, etc. and the interactions and friendships between the three leads. Andrew is the loner, the one who never really had friends. The only person he seems close to is Matt, who also seemingly dislike him. Andrew's father is not only an abusive, unemployed drunk, but he also sees reality in his own way rather than the way it actually is. He is a largely despicable character.

The movie in general can be predicted in advance. Everything can be seen even to the people who are not exactly genre-savvy. It plays out exactly like one would think it would, with Andrew being pushed off the deep end through his home and social lives, a character dying, and a hero and a villain emerging. That being said, although this movie is predictable, it is also very good. I enjoyed it thoroughly, although the ending was not exactly to my liking. I would have much rather liked the father to have died and Andrew to have burnt himself out on his own power. That would have worked beautifully. The way it ended fell flat for me instead.

This is one of the few movies I have ever seen that has a fantastic opening though. The characters seem real when introduced. The plot moves along at a steady and enjoyable pace, and the darkening of the plot is thoroughly foreshadowed even when the story is downright silly. The first half of the movie does have a lot of comedy in it, something I probably wouldn't have enjoyed as much if I hadn't seen it in the theater. I tend to not love comedy, which is why I never do comedy reviews, but the comedy in this one feels very real. Teenagers with these superpowers would play pranks and have fun in these ways. I like that a lot.

The plot is pretty standard and works pretty well. I like how the movie darkens after the death of Steve, and I like the set-up to his death... with the plane scene happening before foreshadowing the whole thing, showing the happiest day of the three characters' times together contrasted with the darkest, saddest day. I thought it was very well done, appropriately sad and terrible, showing how close Andrew was to falling all along, and how Steve was really the one he was relying upon for support. It also shows just how terrible Andrew's father is, being the kind of person to throw Andrew's enjoyment right out the window. Yes, I understand that there are dire things going on at home and everything, but it's not Andrew's fault and there's nothing he can do. He obviously cares about his mother, obviously helps in every way he can. The father is simply a selfish prick who can't see past his own faults. It's terrible.

The cinematography is found-footage, that's certainly true, but because of Andrew's powers, it makes the camerawork almost artsy. I liked it even if in the theater it gave me a headache. I think I would have enjoyed it more on DVD probably. Not much else to say about it then that. I thought it was a good example of found-footage, and mostly very well done all around.

As for characters, here comes some criticisms. I liked both Andrew and Steve. They both came off as heavy contrasts of characters, but could and did get along very well. Their friendship seemed incredibly apparent, and their stage show was one of the  most heart-warming parts of the movie to watch. Both characters had incredibly deep and meaningful antics and dialogue, and both felt very real and very needed in the story as a whole. I thought that they were beautifully done. Steve seemed to be an amazing, heroic type of guy, whereas Andrew is trouble but trying to be the best he can.

Now for Matt. I didn't like Matt. I thought he was superfluous to the entire story and a big huge Marty Stu besides. He is the typical "good guy" character. He has an "arc" that is so apparent it feels like somebody was etching it on a nail they were pounding into my brain. His whole "love" sideplot was unneeded and ridiculous, easily one of the lowpoints of the movie for me. The portrayal of women in the film, especially in regards to Matt, but all around too, seems heavily exploitative, almost showing that girls are only good for sex (making a kid into a man) or being a backup cameraperson. I would have much rather had a female taking the part of Matt and going with that rather than having Matt as the "hero" character. I simply did not like it. It did not work for me at all.

Maybe it was because Matt wasn't very good at anything, or maybe it was because he just seems so "good" and so "righteous" when he put his cousin down for years, never thinking anything more about Andrew than he's weird or a fly on the wall or whatever else. He seemed both insincere and obnoxious. To me he was unneeded and the ending felt worse with him saving the father, killing Andrew, and ending off the film. Andrew should have burnt himself out. The father should have died. Matt should have not existed. Those things would have made the film much better.

I heard in the original version Andrew kills his father like he kills the spider earlier in the film. That would have been fitting. I didn't like how the father got away with everything he did in the end. I felt a little cheated.

The acting here though, despite some character complaints, is very good all around. I think the only person I can criticize is the girl with the camera, Matt's girl. I don't think it necessarily had anything to do with her acting, but rather her part. I hated that part with undying passion. I hated why it was there and what it meant to the story. Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan are really the outstanding players here, but Alex Russell shines as well, especially in the emotional scenes. The father, played by Michael Kelly, also does a fantastic job of making me hate his guts. So, take that for what it's worth.

I liked the movie quite a bit. I didn't love it, but I thought it did a good job at being both different, the same, and quite enjoyable besides. I wish certain things had been different because it would have changed my feelings about the movie quite a bit, but I liked it and would recommend it to people who like superhero movies (deconstruction or otherwise) and people who like found-footage films. It's not necessarily for the whole family with the gore in the film and the brutal family and social life of Andrew, but it works pretty well as an experience.

Movie Appraisal: Apollo 18 (2011)

So, that was fun.

Okay, I have to admit that I like these kinds of movies, not sure why, but I like the idea of them. There's something about space or the sea... some kind of abandoned ship in one of those places that appeals to me in a visceral kind of way. I loved Pandorum, Ghost Ship, Sunshine, and Event Horizon... probably others too, but I can't remember all of them... or maybe I just did mention every last one I've ever seen. Who knows? My point is that Apollo 18 is similar to those movies without being the same kind of rehashed plot. In many ways this movie is equal parts Sunshine (let's use that as an example) and Paranormal Activity, and it makes a fairly fun movie.

This is a found footage film and I think it works well as that except in a few cases where I was confused about where the shots were actually coming from. Some of the wider shots left me confused. I would assume that there is some explanation as to where they came from: the rover or something, but I found it a bit mystifying at times.

I also found the movie, although it was fairly short, to be very slow-paced. Now, usually I like slow-paced films, but this one seemed to be much less about creating a mysterious atmosphere than creating any believable bonds to the characters... or even creating true horror. I suppose this should be classified as a horror movie, but... well, it isn't very scary, nor is it very suspenseful. You know right away what's going to happen. You know the plot before the movie even begins. It becomes heavy-handed and somewhat clumsy at telling its own story.

The plot and story are both strong here, but again, the heavy-handedness of what the filmmakers are trying to say undermines a lot of what could have made the story great. So, no, this isn't a great movie. It was a fun movie. It was a movie I enjoyed watching for the most part, but it will never be one of those great movies I hold onto throughout my entire life.

The characters are basically there to exist. They don't really matter. You can tell me that you love Nate or Ben or John and tomorrow I'll forget who those characters even were. They don't matter. Their personalities don't matter. They could have been named gruff commander who is going to go crazy, dashing and handsome young captain who will die at the end while thinking about his family, and guy who basically does nothing in the course of this movie and it would basically come down to the same thing. Or they could all be named Man and that's about as much characterizations as we get out of them. They are astronauts. They are cool people who are doing something awesome. Heroes, not villains. Well, that's what you get out of characters.

The setting is the mainstay of this movie. It's the freaking moon. Everybody wants to go to the moon and everybody was unhappy when the moon program was cancelled due to budget cuts and such. So, a horror movie based off of an unheard of mission to the moon with everybody dying horrible deaths?I think everybody loves hat premise. And it was executed well, not perfectly, but certainly predictably. Obviously the Soviets had to land somebody on the moon too, obviously they didn't return, obviously the American lander would get broken and they'd have to use the Soviet ship to escape, and obviously they would all die. Oh, and obviously there would be moon monsters because what fun is making any movie when you don't have moon monsters? If I ever make a movie I'm inserting moon monsters into it regardless of what genre the movie is. If it's a freaking romantic comedy there will be moon monsters. The movie will take place on the moon and it will be about moon monsters falling in love.

Okay, I'm being dumb, but I'm trying to make a point here. The moon monsters are dumb. The phrase moon monsters is not intimidating, it is not scary. Showing those moon monster spiders is basically undermining the entire premise of me trying to be afraid of something unknown. I see that they are moon monster spiders. What's there to be afraid of? Just spray some bug spray or something... whack 'em with a hammer, and you're good. I'm obviously trying to be a big jokester, but my point is valid. Showing the moon spiders just makes the monster a whole lot less scary. I was much more intrigued when the monster was a simple rock. The moment it started movie inside of old grizzled commander's helmet I found myself chuckling at the obvious CGI. It took me right out of the movie. I mean, it didn't happen often with the monsters, and for the most part it was handled pretty well, but it was a huge misstep and left me with a shattered perception of a moon movie without crazy moon monsters.

The moon shots were well done for the most part, and I really did like it when the young heroic astronaut was inside of the crater. That was incredibly well done, with the flashing light or whatever that was supposed to be. Although why he just didn't have a flashlight is beyond me. Is there some reason that flashlights don't work on the moon that I don't quite understand? Again, don't get me wrong, I thought the scene was well done, but a flashlight would have been superior for what they were doing unless moon flashlights don't exist, which I suppose is a valid reason for them not using one. I just have no idea myself, and it stuck in my mind as a question. Both crater scenes were well done. I liked how I literally could not tell what was going on in either scene and there was a big hectic feeling all around. I liked that. It was well paced and well done all around. If that had been the only time we see the little moon monsters, I would have been okay with it, but no... no, of course that's not the only time.

As for other elements of the movie... uh... when they're in the spacesuits, it's pretty cool. I mean, that had to be fun for the actors. The Soviet lander was a nice, if all too predictable, touch. I liked it when they notice the different footprints in the moon dust. That was neat and had the exact right tone for what was happening. Sometimes the acting was not the best, and there were certain "What the hell is going on?" moments from the actors that felt incredibly hammy. A lot of movies insist on using that line, and I suppose it might be used if we were in that situation in real life, but the delivery of the lines just did not do the line justice at all and came off as hammy all around. It's a nitpick, but I've seen that line used poorly way too often and I want to say that it's a real problem.

The radio sounds were also a nice touch, but they did get old after a while, kind of bogging down the movie, being a convenient and not readily explainable reason for the two mooned astronauts to be cut off from everybody else. I thought it was kind of silly towards the end of the movie even if early in the movie the communications disruptions were subtle and appropriate.

Oh, and I have to say that the government being full of awful people is always something I have to like. There's something about a bunch of bad men who are absolutely ruthless running the country that appeals to me so much even though I'd absolutely hate it. The government, in this movie, are absolute jerks (I want to use a harsher word than jerk by the way.) and I love every second of knowing that those careful jerks are probably right about their logic. I don't particularly think that the government is well portrayed in this movie if you want a sympathetic and namby-pamby (That's a term, right?) government, but if you want a ruthless, "We're sending you guys out there to see what's out there and also so that you probably all die alone in space." type of of government, that's the one you get in this movie. I love to hate them. It's fantastic.

Altogether, I did like this movie even if it was all over the place in terms of pacing, plotting, and quality. It was predictable, sure, but I, for one, would have been disappointed if certain elements weren't there. It was a fun movie and one that anybody who is a fan of these sorts of movies should try out. If you don't like found footage films or movies like Pandorum, Sunshine, or Event Horizon... I guess Solaris counts as well... then you should avoid it.